ABC7 celebrates St. Patrick's Day in Chicago | Watch full parade special

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Everyone's Irish around St. Patrick's Day, and ABC 7's going all-in on the green to showcase one of Chicago's most cherished traditions, the 69th Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade, airing, live, Saturday, March 16 from 12:00-2:00 p.m. CT on ABC 7 and will stream live on abc7chicago.com and on the ABC 7's connected TV apps as well as Hulu.

ABC7's LIVE, two-hour broadcast will embrace the sights, sounds and fun of an Irish celebration in Chicago along with highlights of another famous Chicago tradition, dyeing the Chicago River green, a yearly event since 1962. ABC 7's honorary Irish hosts, anchor Judy Hsu and Meteorologist Larry Mowry, will be in the broadcast booth and will be providing parade color commentary along with Karen Ryan, producer of a documentary detailing the history of Chicago's St. Patrick's Day Parade. ABC 7 Reporter Liz Nagy will cover all the excitement and pageantry on the street.

ABC7's parade coverage will feature perennial favorites including bagpipers, Irish step dancers, floats, marching bands and marching politicians that make this one of the most celebrated events in Chicago.

The 2024 theme of the St. Patrick's Day Parade is "Mental Health is Essential." This year's grand marshal is Peter O'Brien Sr. O'Brien is the President and CEO of MADO Management, a diversified family business. Born and raised in Chicago, to parents of Irish descent who first began their business ventures together in 1946, Peter has become a community and civic leader and a national advocate for mental health and substance use, treatment equity. The company's name, MADO, is an acronym derived from his parents' names: Mary Ann and Dan O'Brien. The guest of honor is Patrick Kennedy. The Kennedy Forum is working toward lasting change in the way mental health and addictions are treated in the health care system.

Wearing the green and representing ABC 7 along the parade route in the latest model convertibles are Jaisol Martinez, Mark Rivera, Tracy Butler, Ravi Baichwal, John Garcia, Maher Kawash, Samantha Chatman.

No St. Patrick's Day parade is complete without the smiling Irish eyes of the queen. This year's reigning monarch is Grace O'Connor, a corporate attorney who has always enjoyed singing. Grace grew up on Chicago's Northwest Side in St. Hillary's parish. She is proud of her Irish heritage on both sides of the family. A graduate of Northwestern University, Grace has four brothers who are either attending Northwestern University or will be attending Northwestern. She also attended Loyola University Chicago where she earned both Master of Business Administration and Juris Doctor Degrees.

The St. Patrick's Day parade, which will run south to north on Columbus Drive, is organized by the Chicago Plumber's Union Local 130, James F. Coyne, general chairman of parade.

About ABC7/WLS-TV Chicago

ABC7/WLS-TV Chicago is the No. 1 local news source and most-watched television station in Chicago. With top-rated daily newscasts spanning decades and the largest social media presence in the market with more than 2.6 million Facebook followers, ABC7 Eyewitness News provides breaking news, investigative reporting, weather, politics, traffic and sports in the multiplatform space to Chicago, the suburbs and northwest Indiana. Named Best News Operation by the Associated Press for four consecutive years, ABC 7 Eyewitness News produces "Chicago Proud," a series of features that spotlights everyday heroes in and around Chicago. The station also produces the highest-rated New Year's Eve special in Chicago, holiday kickoff special "The Magnificent Mile Lights Festival," syndicated to a national audience, as well as the award-winning program series "Our Chicago," which showcases the city's diversity and highlights contributions in the Black, Hispanic, Asian, LGBTQ+ communities, among others. Every Friday, Windy City Weekend, entertains while giving Chicagoans everything they need to know about what's happening in the city. ABC 7 is the only Chicago station producing and broadcasting parades representing Chicago's rich cultural history. In addition to producing town halls focused on current social issues, the station has a long and proud tradition of broadcasting political candidate debates keeping Chicago's electorate informed. ABC7's outreach efforts include annual partnerships with the Red Cross for life-saving blood drives, one of the biggest one-day drives in the country and, most recently, spearheading an effort to raise more than $1.5 million for area food pantries.

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